The National Transportation Safety Board said that the preliminary cause of the crash is due to weather. The safety board believes the plane flew into a storm, and radar indicates that storms were in the area.

Photo Credit: Nash County Sheriff's Office

The single-engine turboprop plane was flying at an altitude of 27,000 feet and at a speed of more than 300 miles per hour, the highway patrol said. The victims were headed to Maryland.

Authorities described that the plane began to break apart midair, with parts of the plane falling to the ground in different locations.